Comedian Charlie Callas dies in Las Vegas

Charlie Callas, a versatile comedian known for his pliable face and vocal effects, died Thursday in Las Vegas, where he lived his final years. He was 83.

Callas died at a hospice of natural causes, according to his son Mark.

Callas was a rubber-faced, wiry-framed comic whose rapid-fire delivery made him a frequent guest on variety and comedy shows, and an opening act for stars such as Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones.

"Everybody that met him, he left them with a smile," said Mark Callas, who is co-producer of the "American Superstars" revue at the Stratosphere. Mark Callas said he encouraged his parents to move to Las Vegas from New York in 2002.

Another son, Larry Callas, said the death of his mother, Evelyn Callas, in July at age 80 broke his father's heart.

Charlie Callas toured with Sinatra and Jones, and was a guest on TV variety shows hosted by Jackie Gleason, Ed Sullivan, Merv Griffin, Andy Williams and Flip Wilson. Callas also guest-hosted on the "Joey Bishop Show."

For years, Callas made Johnny Carson laugh on the "Tonight Show." But Carson banned him from returning after Callas shoved Carson off his chair in a bid for laughs in 1982.

Callas was the voice of Elliott in Disney's animated "Pete's Dragon" and played restaurant owner Malcolm Argos in the 1970s TV series "Switch" with Robert Wagner and Eddie Albert. He had roles in Mel Brooks' films "High Anxiety" and "History of the World: Part I."

Callas grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and served in the U.S. Army in Germany during World War II before beginning a career as a drummer with big bands starring Tommy Dorsey and Buddy Rich.

"Sometimes I would stick my head out from behind the cymbals and make faces at the audience," Callas told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 1982, when he was a support act for Frank and Nancy Sinatra at Caesars Palace.

"All I ever wanted to be was a funny drummer," he said.

But it wasn't long before he gave up drumming for stand-up routines. He dropped a vowel from his legal name, Callias, when he took to the stage.

"My comedy idols have always been (Charlie) Chaplin and (Jackie) Gleason," he noted in 1982. "My big break came when Jerry Lewis put me in his movie 'The Big Mouth' (in 1967). I'll always be grateful for that."

His television career began in 1963 when he performed on the "Hollywood Palace" variety show.

In 1985, Callas worked with Charo in the "Moulin Rouge" production show at the Las Vegas Hilton. Though he did not work the showrooms professionally after moving to Las Vegas, he performed at The Orleans in a benefit for Italian earthquake victims in May 2009 and another benefit for veteran Las Vegas entertainer Norman Kaye the year before. His last performance may have been a Father's Day show for veterans in Boulder City in 2009, said entertainer Nelson Sardelli, who organizes the annual show.

Funeral arrangements were being made at Palm Mortuary in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Review-Journal writer Mike Weatherford contributed to this report. Contact him at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.